Lost to Light
by BlueEyedBeast43
Summary: Zaid Harlo is a newly ressurected Guardian who's just getting started out. But when a new enemy arises to try and kill him, he is called upon to help stop this new threat. But what do you do when the threat is someone from home?
1. 01 - A New Begginning

"….what are you doing?" A soft feminine voice asked.

"What? W-who's there?" Came the frail reply of a young man before a flash of light shot out, forcing him to shield his eyes. A figured appeared, their features being concealed and blocked by the blinding light.

"I asked what you are doing." It was the same female voice as before.

"I….I don't know." He said, wondering who this woman was and what purpose she served.

The figure shifted, "Well….you better start figuring it out."

"How?" Sounding desperate, he took a step forward.

"It's time." The figure started to float away.

"Wait!" He yelled. "Time? Time for what?!" He asked, even more desperately, reaching out towards her.

"Time to wake up, Guardian." She replied, her voice seeming to change near the end, and in a flash of light, he was left looking at a blue sky. A small robot floated in front of him, looking at him with it's singular eye.

"Time to wake up," was the slightly distorted voice emanating from the small machine, "we're nearly there." It's modular body shifted around before he floating off, out of sight as the man continued to look at the sky. After a few moments the robot whizzed back into view, "Well, Come on."

The man sat up, forcing the little machine to move out of the way, "What time is it?" his voice sounding dry, he took a moment to clear his throat.

"Nearly twelve." Came the quick reply of the "Ghost," floating about lazily.

Standing up, the "Guardian" picked up the gun laying nearby, glancing around the close area, seeing nothing but overgrown foliage and ruined buildings. "Alright, let's get going."

"It's about time," Ghost said before vanishing into particles of light.

Footsteps echoed through the concrete hall as the two of them entered, light streaming from the open doorway down the dark hall. One crunched on glass as he stepped over it while the other floated over it with ease. "How much further, Ghost?"

"Not much further," came his reply as he turned on his flashlight in order for the both of them to see. They continued down the dark hall until they entered a large room. The Guardian looked around, light from the skylights above shining over the broken glass and rubble in the room, nature claiming a lot of it, and seeing a console placed on a concrete reception desk off to the side. Ghost floated ahead of him and started scanning the computer system.

The Guardian looked down at his forearm, seeing the name "Zaid Harlo" carved into his armor, one of the only things he remembered after being resurrected by Ghost, having put it there himself after realizing that he had little to no memory of his past life, and was worried he'd forget his own name too. "What is this place?" He asked, changing his focus back to the room.

"It's a lab," Ghost stated, "a lot of things were invented and created here. It was a very important facility before the collapse."

"What are we doing here?"

"We're here to get you home." And with that, the large doors on the opposite side of the room started to open, grinding it's old gears as it ripped apart vines that had grown in from the broken skylight. Once parted, the doors revealed a dark stairwell spiraling downward. Ghost looked at Zaid, "Well, after you."

"You're the one with the flashlight, Ghost," he said, looking back at him.

"That is very true," he said as he approached the door, "heh, what would you ever do without me?"

"I'd still be dead," Zaid said matter-of-factly as they entered through the doors.

"That is also very true," Ghost said as they descended into the depths of the stairwell.

Ghost shined light from his one eye as they continued down the steps, getting darker and darker as they went. The stairs seemed to go one for a while, but eventually hit a smaller set of doors. The doors seemed automatic, but without any power, Zaid was forced to pry open the doors himself. With a loud screech, the doors slowly slid open to reveal nothing but darkness on the other side. Zaid stepped through, "Is this it?" He asked.

"Yes, we're finally here," started Ghost, "let me see if I can't get some of the power on." Ghost started floating along the wall, searching for an access point, "Here." He said as he stopped in front of a metal panel. Zaid approached the panel, examining the lock before raising his gun in the air and smashing the lock with the butt of it, causing a loud clang to echo through the dark room. Ghost then proceeded to scan the inside, fixing electronic pathways, or whatever Ghost does with his beam of light. "Alright, here we go," he said as lights started to flicker on all across the room.

The room was quite large with random machines, tools and computers everywhere. The place looked like it hadn't been touched in centuries. But, even with everything that was in the room, there was one thing in particular that grabbed Zaid's attention, "What is that….?" He asked, standing in awe.

Ghost turned his attention, "Oh, that? That is a prototype Saber Class Jump Ship," he said, looking over the large spacecraft, "that's how we're going to get you home."

Zaid stared at it for a few more moments, "Huh….neat," was his simple reply, "I guess we should go." Sounding more like a question, he was interrupted by the echoes of voices from the nearby stairwell. The dialect was nothing human, which meant it was nothing good.

The two looked at the doorway before looking at each other, "That would be good," Ghost said before floating off towards the ship, "let me get it started up." Zaid approached a table, swiping everything off of it before flipping it and positioned it facing the door before grabbing the rifle off of his back and hulling up behind it. He heard more chatter coming from the stairs, much closer than before. But then, everything was quiet. Zaid gripped his rifle in anticipation as he stared through the doorway.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, blue arcs of light flew out of the darkness, forcing Zaid to duck behind the table as the energy rounds clashed into the table. The barrage continued and as soon as there was a break in the fire, Zaid sprang up from behind the table, firing into the group of enemy assailants entering through the door.

These "Fallen" were a race of alien pirates that showed up after the collapse. All Zaid knew about them so far were that they were the enemy, and that they were ugly. A few of the insect like humanoids fell to the floor as more enemy fire came flying through the door, whizzing by Zaid and making him retreat back behind cover. Across the room, the sound of engines wiring up was apparent as the spacecraft started floating off the ground, "How much longer, Ghost?!" Zaid yelled as he reloaded his magazine.

"Just got to open the hanger doors!" He replied as he flew over to a nearby computer system while Zaid blindly fired over the table, hearing the cries of the Fallen, cries both of pain and anger. Loud screeches started emanating from the large retractable doors up above, signifying that Ghost was successful in activating the hanger doors. "Time to go!"

"Got it!" Zaid replied before sprinting out of cover, tossing a grenade towards the door to the stairway. Loud shrieks of surprise were heard before being silenced by an even louder explosion. Arc streams flew by as Zaid ran towards the ship, stumbling a bit as he went.

"I got you!" Ghost said as he transmat the guardian into the driver's seat of the aircraft. "Let's get out of here!" Turning the ship around, they took off out the large doors while arc bolts flew after them. "Let's get you to the city."


	2. 02 - New Meetings

The sun was dipping low as Ghost transmat himself and Zaid into the Tower Plaza, sending the ship off to the hanger to be docked. Zaid ran his fingers through his dark brown hair that wasn't short, but wasn't very long either. He scratched the side of his jaw, feeling the rough stuble growing, figuring he needed to shave. "We should see the Vanguard" Ghost told him, floating straight ahead towards a flight of stairs. Zaid followed behind, looking at the sights and people of the Tower.

"Good evening, Guardian," a robot, referred to as a "Frame," called out to him, catching his attention. Giving a brief nod, Zaid continued forward and down the steps, passing by a woman mumbling to herself about an enemy called the "Hive," three eyes glowing eerily behind a dark, aged cloth wrapped around them. One could only guess what happened to her.

Passing by another Frame and a large man wearing intricate armor, the pair entered into a room with a large window in the back. Consoles lined the wall, Frames manning their stations as they typed away at the screens, and in the middle of the room sat a long table covered in maps, books and other things. Standing around it were three figures; a bald Awoken wearing heavy armor, a hooded Exo, and a dark skinned human draped in robes. Something about their presence seemed to demand respect. Respect that was well deserved. "You're gonna want to see the one in the back," Ghost said as he eyed the tall Awoken. Zaid focused his attention on the Titan and made his way around the table towards him.

"Greetings, Guardian," he spoke first, "was there something you needed?" Hearing him talk reminded Zaid of the phrase "All brawn and no brain," but this man seemed to have both.

"Um, yes. I'm kind of new and was told to come here to see you." Zaid made an attempt to speak somewhat formal, not wanting to leave a bad impression on the members of the Vanguard.

"Ah, yes. There is no such thing as too many Guardians. Welcome to the Tower, Hunter, I am commander Zavala. Over there is Cayde and Ikora, we are the head of the Vanguard and leaders of the Guardians," he introduced, extending a hand out.

"Zaid. Zaid Harlo," returning the gesture, Zaid shook Zavala's hand, exchanging a firm grasp before releasing. "So, what now?" He asked, not entirely sure what to do.

"Well, for now we need to set you up with a place to stay," Zavala told him, looking over at a Frame standing at a computer nearby, giving it a brief nod before it started typing away at the screen, "it's getting pretty late, so we'll issue you in tomorrow morning." The before mentioned Frame walked up to Zavala with a data pad displaying information. He took it and started scrolling through the contents, "Looks like today's your lucky day, Hunter. A vacancy has just been made available up near North Tower," he set the pad down with the others on the table, "Ikora?"

Zaid turned towards the Warlock as she looked up from her books, waving him over to her. Only when he got near did she begin to speak, "Here, I'm sending the location and access codes of your room to your Ghost." She swiped at a data pad sitting on the table and Ghost materialized next to Zaid.

"Got it," he confirmed, the Warlock looking over to him.

"Good. Now go get settled in, we'll see you in the morning," she waved her hand, dismissing the two. Ghost vanished as Zaid stepped out of the room, walking back past the large Titan and the mumbling Warlock, going up the stairs and out into the Plaza. It was starting to get dark now as the sun receded behind the mountains.

"Where to, Ghost?"

"Up the stairs and through the door to the right." Following his instructions, Zaid made his way through a hallway and out into Tower North. People were sitting and standing about, albeit the slowly dwindling sunlight, and an observatory sat off to the side connected only by a small bridge. To the right was a large door, slightly ajar, to which Zaid assumed was the residential area. He walked over and stepped through them into what looked like a street. 2-3 story buildings lined each side, covered with balconies, doors and windows.

"Wow, they have a place like this on top of a tower? How do all the guardians live here?" Zaid asked, amazed by the architecture.

"They don't," Ghost replied flatly, "most Guardians live inside the tower, down below. You were lucky to get a place on top." Zaid nodded in understanding, making his way further down the street. There were only one or two guardians walking about, leaving the area almost completely empty. "First door on this next building to the left." Zaid stepped up to the designated door, typing in the code Ghost had given him beforehand. With a quiet click, Zaid turned the knob and opened the door.

Right inside the door was a short hallway leading into a dark room. There was a window at the other end, but it didn't provide much light at this time of day. Stepping through the door, Zaid closed it and walked into the room. "Where's the lightswitch," he said to himself, searching the wall with his hands.

Suddenly he was tackled out of nowhere, the immense force knocking the air out of his lungs. He hit the ground hard, trying to identify the assailant but it being too dark to see their face except for two glowing green eyes. Thinking fast, Zaid used his feet to launch the attacker over him, hearing them crash into a wall behind him. Zaid quickly got back up on his feet but froze, hearing the click of a hammer being pulled back on a revolver.

"Who are you?" A male voice came out, asking him a question he was wondering as well, looking into the glowing eyes that were staring back at him. "How did you get in here?"

Zaid raised up his hands, standing up straight. "Oh, sorry, I was told to come here by the Vanguard as my new residence." A long silence followed, Zaid not daring to make a move. Suddenly the lights flashed on, blinding the Hunter for a second. His eyes quickly adjusted to see a large Exo standing there, Hand Cannon lowered by their side and had just a basic grey faceplate. Zaid lowered his hands.

"Welcome," he said, "I apologise for the rude introduction. I wasn't expecting anyone." He walked over to a small coffee table sitting between a couch and a TV before setting down the large pistol. "My name's Jorge-4," he walked back over to Zaid.

"Zaid Harlo," he replied, extending his hand to the Exo, "it's a pleasure." Jorge returned the gesture, shaking hands with him. "So, seems like I'm your new roommate."

"Seems that way," he said, walking to the other end of the room, pushing open one of the doors, "This is your room, bathroom's over there, and the kitchen is through the opening on the other side." And with that, he walked through a door next to Zaid's designated room and closed it.  
Zaid sighed, plopping down on the couch. It was the first piece of furniture he's sat on since his resurrection, very happy with how soft it was. It had been a long day, Zaid nearly falling asleep on the couch. But before he could do so, Jorge re-entered the room wearing a pair of sweats and a hoodie, "I'm going to the club, you wanna join me?" He asked, pulling his hood up.  
Zaid thought about this for a moment. Although he was tired, he was pretty excited to see more of the Tower and its people. "Sure, why not?" He got up off the couch, stretching before the two of them left the residence, flicking the light off as they went.


	3. 03 - New Meetings 2

The two Guardians made their way across the Tower, the Plaza mostly empty now that the sun had vanished beyond the horizon. Proceeding through another doorway, the pair walked in silence before Zaid decided to speak up, "So….can you even drink?"

"No," the Exo replied, "I just like the atmosphere." With that, they entered the Tower Hanger, Zaid pausing to look over the large room full of ships and tools. "This way," the pair went left, walking past a couple vendors packing up shop and went down a flight of stairs, taking a right at the bottom.

Zaid rounded the corner, stopping when he saw the docked ship. Parked backwards, the former cargo ship sat with its rear door opened, the inside refurbished into more of a lounge. It was quite lively and active inside.

"Well, come on," Jorge said, entering the ship. Zaid picked up the pace, following him through the crowd, reaching a counter at the other end. Stepping up to it, Jorge greeted the man attending the counter, "Hey Will."

"Hello, Jorge." The man said, not sounding all too pleased with the arrival of the Exo. He was a grizzly man with a full head of brown hair and a beard reaching an inch or two past his chin, wearing a dark T-shirt sitting tightly on his broad shoulders. "I hope you're not here to cause trouble again."

"Of course not," he said nonchalantly, "unless someone starts it first," saying it much quieter. "This is my roommate, he's new," he told him, gesturing to the approaching Hunter.

The bartender nodded, "Welcome. My name's Will," he said before gesturing to the bar, "anything I can get you?"

"I'm Zaid and, um…I don't know…I'm not sure if I've ever drank before," Zaid watched wearily.

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Will took out a dark colored bottle, popping off the cap and setting it on the counter, "On the house, for the new Guardian."

"Oh, Thanks." Zaid picked up the bottle, looking at the contents before taking a drink of it. The taste was bitter and burned, but somehow seemed familiar. Turning around, he took in the scene of all the Guardians hanging around drinking.

He took another drink as Jorge sat on a stool beside me, "So, how was your trip getting here?" He asked, looking over the crowd as well.

"Well, I spent several days in North America before my Ghost found information about a facility from before the Collapse that was possibly housing a prototype jump ship. It took us several more days to actually get there and make our way here."

"Sounds complicated. I happened to be resurrected nearby a few months ago, so getting here wasn't a problem." Jorge swiveled his stool around to face the bar.

"Lucky you," Zaid said as he finished off his beer. He nearly choked on it though, as he saw a chair heading right for his face. He quickly ducked, as did Will, while the chair flew over their heads, splintering against the wall with a loud crash.

"I know who _that_ is," Jorge said monotonously, seemingly unfazed.

"Damn it, Danny! What did I tell you!?" Will yelled, standing up from behind the counter. Zaid quickly stood making his way through the crowd. He arrived at the scene of an Awoken women with short, dark purple hair put into a pony tail yelling at a young, blonde waitress.

"Whatchu means I *hick* can'tz have any more?!" She asked angrily, standing rather close to the young women.

"I mean that you're cut off," the young blonde said nervously, beads of sweat forming on her forehead, "we think you've had too much and should go home and rest." The waitress backed away a little.

This only seemed to anger her more as she raised her fist towards the women. Before she could swing though, a metal hand caught her arm, spinning her around. "Alright, that's enough," Jorge told her, which she ignored as she swung at him instead. Jorge just ducked under the swing and grabbed her legs, lifting her over his shoulder before turning around and walking away.

"Let me at 'er!" She yelled, kicking her feet as she swung her fists in the direction of the other women. Zaid followed behind as they left the ship and headed over to the nearby stairs where Jorge set her down. She grumbled under her breath as she sat there.

"Who is she?" Zaid asked, looking over the strange women. She had light purple skin and glowing blue eyes.

"This," he said gesturing to the Awoken, "is trouble maker number two." He walked back towards the ship,

"What? You're just going to leave her here?" Zaid asked, looking at the half-conscious women sitting on the stairs.

"Not my problem," he said, heading back into the ship. Zaid grunted before turning back to the Awoken.

"Well, I guess we should get you home," Zaid walked up to her leaning down and wrapping her arm around his shoulder, helping her stand up off the ground. "What's your name?" He asked, getting a few grumbles in response. "Come again?"

"Deanery," she said slurred but still coherent. It was a very unique name and kind of hard to pronounce.

"I'll just call you Danny," he said, helping her up the stairs, "where are your quarters? Do you live on top of the tower?" She nodded and they went on their way. It was a long, tedious walk but they eventually made their way through the North Tower doors to the residential area and Zaid started leading her down the street, "Where's your room?" He asked. She pointed to a building and they made their way over there.

Standing in front of a door, Zaid looked over and was quite surprised that his quarters were the next door over. "Well, would you look at that." He said as Deanery started mashing the buttons on the keypad. After a few tries she got it and Zaid opened the door. Stepping in, the door closed behind them and Zaid quickly found the light switch.

With the guidance of Deanery, Zaid led her to one of the doors in the back, leading her inside and turning on the light. He took her over to the bed and went to set her down when she clung to his neck, "Why don'tcha stay the night, stranger?" she asked grinning slightly, the smell of alcohol prominent on her breath.

"I think I'll pass," he said, laying her on the bed. She grumbled as she closed her eyes. Zaid left the room, heading to the bathroom and turning on the light. He opened the medicine cabinet, pulling out bottles until he found one for headache and sensitivity. He then went to the kitchen, getting a glass of water before heading back to the bedroom, grabbing a pen and paper on the way.

The woman was fast asleep when he entered the room. He walked over to the nightstand, writing a note and leaving it there with the water and medicine. He put a blanket over the sleeping girl and left the room, turning off the light and closing the door. He then left the apartment and went over to his, quickly entering and heading straight for his room.

When he entered the bedroom, he noticed the blandness of it and realized that it was his first time actually being in there. He didn't care, though, and just took off his armor he had been wearing for the past week, figuring he'd take a shower in the morning, before collapsing on his bed, quickly falling asleep afterwards.


End file.
